Advanced mycotoxin testing system

Transcription

1 Advanced mycotoxin testing system ToxiMet Ltd. successfully launched its revolutionary new system for the measurement of mycotoxins in food in ToxiQuant instruments are now a key component in commodity testing at customer sites across five continents. The ToxiMet system can be used by nonscientists and provides the accuracy of high-end instruments, such as HPLC but at a fraction of the cost and time. Food producers, traders and processors can now comply with the highest food safety standards while rotating their stock much faster and reducing their testing and storage costs. Abstract Proper control of food safety is a major issue globally. An exponential increase in food exports over the last 40 years and tightening regulations around the world drives the demand for food safety testing methods. As the route to market has become more complex, testing protocols are required that can be used at any point in the global supply chain. ToxiMet has developed a platform technology that can be used by nonscientists and can be applied to the analysis of many substances in food safety and quality. The first application is the accurate detection of mycotoxins.

2 The mycotoxin problem Mycotoxins are chemicals produced by fungi. The FAO estimates that 25% of global crops are contaminated with fungi that may produce mycotoxins. Other sources estimate that 5-10% of all commodities traded globally are contaminated by mycotoxins and need to be discarded. The incidence of contamination varies each year depending on climatic conditions but over the last ten years, mycotoxins consistently accounted for 30-60% of food and feed rejections at European Union borders. Mycotoxin contamination was 10 times more frequent than any other cause for rejection. Some years are especially devastating. For example, USGC research found that 14.1% of corn samples from the 2012 crop contained aflatoxin levels above those permitted by US food safety regulations. There are huge commercial losses associated with the improper and delayed detection of contamination. Even more important, deficient controls can lead to contaminated food being consumed by humans, with deadly consequences: for example, 125 people died of acute mycotoxin intoxication in Kenya in Some mycotoxins have been proven to produce cancer, so long term exposure is a major health issue. Regulations therefore require that mycotoxin concentration in food and feed is kept to very low levels. Figure 1: The mycotoxin problem

3 The food supply chain Given that fungi produce the toxins, contamination can arise at any point during the long transit of commodities from the farm to the consumer. For example, it is possible that no contamination is detected before the consignment is shipped but after spending sometime in transit, fungi grow and the load becomes contaminated. Therefore, testing must be done at all points along the supply chain. Current testing methodologies are a compromise between speed with low cost and accurate but high-priced alternatives. Techniques that offer a relatively fast and cost effective test, suffer from a lack of accuracy. They produce many false positives and are not able to provide precise results at the low limits of detection required by stringent regulations, such as those in force in the EU. Accurate methods, such as High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), that can provide results compliant with regulations are unfortunately very costly and require highly experienced technicians to run and interpret the tests. Figure 2: The food supply chain

4 Consistent Global Testing It is frequently the case that different testing methods are used across the supply chain, even within the same global organisation. This leads to a lack of consistency in the results and makes the central control and logging of safety information a very difficult task for the global QC team. the intake of their factories, simply because they do not have the personnel or the time required to use more precise technologies. Given the low-level of testing by suppliers in origin countries, often in emerging markets, the risk of introducing mycotoxin contaminated material is increased. Many global companies employ fast, cheap and inaccurate testing methods at Figure 3: Consistent global testing

5 Comparison of techniques All these issues led ToxiMet to develop a totally new testing platform, which can be used by non-scientists and can be deployed at every point in the supply chain. The ToxiMet System combines the best properties of all currently available technologies. It is very fast and cost efficient, and at the same time is able to provide accurate and precise results, with sensitivity at levels well below those required by the most stringent regulations. Additionally, the system has been designed based on the feedback from global food processors, and thus incorporates their requirements. Results are reported in electronic format, compatible with global LIMS systems, so every batch can be properly logged and tracked. Testing protocols and results are consistent across all sites and at every point in the supply chain. The system avoids the need for calibrations that use toxins and is therefore much safer to operate for employees. Solvent use is drastically reduced in comparison with HPLC, ensuring an environmentally friendly operation and low solvent disposal costs. Figure 4: Comparison of techniques

6 The ToxiMet solution The ToxiMet solution, shown in Figure 5, is comprised of three core components; the ToxiSep cartridge cleans-up the sample extracted from the raw commodity. The cleaned up sample is then loaded onto a ToxiTrace cartridge, which is inserted for measurement into the ToxiQuant instrument. Figure 5: Flow Diagram Showing the ToxiMet System

7 Ease of use The instrument has been designed to be used by non-scientists across the world. Special emphasis has been placed on making the user interface very intuitive. We designed a touch-sensitive screen with easily recognisable symbols. This limits the need for text and provides stepby-step, on-screen instructions. The results are displayed immediately on the screen, without the need for any further calculation. If required, they are automatically transferred to a laptop for transfer into LIMS or to be communicated in electronic format. Figure 6: ToxiQuant user interface

8 Comparison with HPLC The ToxiMet System can accurately, precisely, simply, rapidly and affordably measure the level of aflatoxins (individual and total) in edible nuts, rice and corn. It can perform analysis at EU regulatory levels to sub parts per billion accuracy. The results are available in minutes rather than hours (or even days with some current methodologies) and testing can take place outside the normal laboratory environment. with HPLC data while achieving a 70% saving in the cost of operation. Figure 7 graphically compares the results, obtained using the ToxiQuant and HPLC, from five nut samples (hazelnut, peanut, Brazil nut, almond, and cashew) and a rice sample. The samples were analysed in duplicate at five different concentrations; and the results show the individual aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxin levels (sum of B1, B2, G1 and G2) in parts per billion (µg/kg). The ToxiQuant generates quantitative results that are in excellent agreement Figure 7: ToxiQuant vs HPLC

9 FAPAS proficiency test ToxiMet s laboratories regularly participate in the Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS), to ensure that the HPLC results used as comparison are absolutely accurate. In a recent FAPAS testing, in which almost 90 international analytical laboratories participated, ToxiMet ranked first, obtaining the closest Z-score to 0 for the combination of Aflatoxin B 1 and Total Aflatoxin precision (and Z=0 for Aflatoxin B 1, as can be seen in Figure 8). Figure 8: FAPAS proficiency testing

10 Accreditation ToxiMet is currently conducting a joint validation exercise with a leading UK Public Analyst laboratory which will culminate in the granting of UKAS accreditation for the analysis of aflatoxins in edible nuts and rice using the ToxiQuant System. ToxiMet customers around the world are also in the process of obtaining other accreditations for their laboratories in combination with the ToxiQuant system, such as USDA-AMS, ACCREDIA, and VILAS-BoA. ToxiMet has carried out extensive research into the ToxiQuant instrument s Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantitation (LOQ) levels, using a statistical weighted linear regression method. Figure 9 shows that the LOD and LOQ limits for individual aflatoxins in hazelnuts and groundnuts are well below the EU regulatory limits for these commodities. Figure 9: Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantitation (LOQ)

11 In the near future ToxiMet will be launching a range of new applications for the ToxiQuant system, including the measurement of Ochratoxin A in dried vine fruit. Multiple mycotoxin applications in wheat and maize will be launched later in the year, and testing for pesticides and typical quality parameters are also under development. The ultimate goal is that ToxiMet s technology is recognised as the gold standard for mycotoxin testing in every food safety and quality laboratory in the world. The ToxiMet System is now available for demonstration at your company. Please visit for further information.